Well, what a busy weekend! I decided to take the machine quilting bull by the horns and even do a little thread-painting! Ooooohhh, I can see where this will be very addictive! I can also see where I am going to need alot more thread! First, I took a solid yellow piece of fabric and used tsusineko (sp?) inks and fabric paints to create the petals. Then I cut a piece of brown fabric for the center. I fused both of these to a white piece of fabric. After that cooled, I took light blue and cobalt blue paints and painted in the sky. I let it all dry and then add a piece of fusible batting. Loaded my sewing machine with varigated thread and did the center thread painting with my zig zag stitch. Switched over to yellow thread and worked on the petals. Ended up doign 3 different colors on the petals. I should have taken a picture of the back, cause it was pretty cool! I then added another layer of batting and then machine quilted around the petals and the sky. I think this panel will end up going into a bag. I really like how it turned out!
Here's a close-up -
